In a year where umpires like Joe West and Bill Hohn are doing all they can to show they are far from perfect, Jim Joyce went one step further by having his imperfection blow someone else’s perfection. It’s like that O. Henry short story where the poor wife cuts off her hair and sells it to buy him a pocket watch accessory and the husband laughs at her bald head. For all intents and purposes, Armando Galarragapitched a perfect game yesterday. The Governor of Michigan is declaring he pitched a perfect game. Unfortunately for Galarraga, the Governor’s previous proclamations that ‘Detroit is the pearl of the Midwest’ and ‘Kid Rock is STD-free in my book’ were never accepted by the tourism and medical industries so it’s unlikely MLB will honor her request. Who I really feel bad for? Harvey Haddix. Now he has to share his asterisk. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Chipper Jones – Glass Chipper left the game with an injury. Shocker! No way! C’mon!

Derek Lowe – 8 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks. Came into this game with a 4.86 ERA and guess how many wins. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Nope, higher. Higher still. No, not 30. Lower. No, not 29! Came in with 7 wins. Now has 8. While I have guys like Jonathan Sanchez with 3 wins and a 2.90 ERA. Why can’t I ever get any good Win karma?

Josh Beckett – Will have his rehab slowed for 10 days while they figure out how to fix his delivery. Probably will push his return date back about three weeks, at least. If you have room on your DL, I’d continue to hold him since it’s not an injury, it’s a brain fart.

Vladimir Guerrero – Day-to-day as he left practice with a left eye injury and went to the hospital. Last athlete that happened to was Andre Rison.

Miguel Olivo – Out until Friday with a broken fingernail. Last athlete to miss time with a broken fingernail was Michelle Wie.

Kevin Gregg – Gaston said Gregg would get off Wednesday. Maybe he saw he ordered The Spice Channel… Oh, “get off” as in rest. See, misread that. If there was any doubt that Gregg’s still the closer, Frasor and Downs did what they could to confirm it yesterday. Frasor didn’t record an out, walking Upton then Downs gave up a grand slam to Crawford. It seems appropriate that the less Gregg pitches the better his hold on the closer job becomes.

Kevin Slowey – 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks. Sticking with the Kevin theme, Slowey actually made it out of the 6th inning. Wonders never cease. Wasn’t a particularly dominating performance against a poor offense in a pitchers’ park. He gets the Royals next, so last night’s start might’ve been a ploy for him to build trust so he can crush your hopes and dreams next time out.

David Price – 8 IP, 0 ER, 9 baserunners, 3 Ks. I see your hot hitting Blue Jays and I raise you an ace in the making.

Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks – 2 straight games scoreless after nine innings. I understand the World Cup is right around the corner, but why are they playing soccer? On Tuesday, Kemp scored in penalty time. Yesterday, the Dodgers won 1-0 again. Is it the LA Galaxy vs. the Arizona Borderjumpers? Next thing you know, LA will be trading for (Gordon) Beckham.

Carlos Monasterios – 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 baserunners, 3 Ks. Worth a look in NL-Only leagues, but he’s a Rule 5 guy and his stuff only looked good yesterday because of the Diamondlacks.

Garret Anderson – 1-for-6 as he bats .157. Many a great OF has returned to his original city to play his last year or two for another team in the same city. Babe Ruth playing for the Boston Braves. Willie Mays for the New York Mets. Hank Aaron for the Milwaukee Brewers. Garret Anderson for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s like a Mount Rushmore of outfielders if Teddy Roosevelt were replaced by Chester A. Arthur.

Edwin Jackson – 9 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks. Only Dodger player to get a hit on Edwin was Jamey Carroll. Edwin was featured in the FIP post in March that said you shouldn’t draft him, then he was featured again in the FIP post in May that said he should be better. Now he’s pitching as he should be? Well, not quite, but he should still be a 4 ERA guy and he’s over 5.

Gavin Floyd – 2 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 11 baserunners, 1 K vs. the Rangers, not a good road hitting team. Nothing says I hate your freakin’ guts like a pitcher who pitches well in two straight starts then does this. This is the kind of start that makes me want to avoid him completely. Or break his kneecaps.

Paul Konerko – 3-for-4, 4 RBIs and 2 homers to bring his total up to 16. Feels like he hasn’t hit one in a month. Cust kayin’.

Wandy Rodriguez – 5 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 8 Ks. He needed 115 pitches through 5 innings, so I wouldn’t go as far as saying Wandy is back. It’s a nice sign in the right direction. Unfortunately, he gets the Rockies in Coors next, so any forward momentum on the Wandwagon may be short-lived.

Jorge Posada -1-for-3 as he returns from the DL to DH. Symmetry, I know. The Great Gazoo will see the majority of the starts behind the plate since Posada still can’t catch.

Robinson Cano – 3-for-4 with his 12th homer. You know a guy is having a special season when he goes cold, as he did in May, and is still hitting .373 on the year.

Chad Gaudin – The Yankees signed Gaudin. While it’s understood that a bullpen facing a major crisis would turn to Gaudin, you’d expect the Evil Empire would find someone more fitting like Mephistopheles McMoneybags or Vinnie Yonkers.

Ken Griffey Jr. – Retired today – as in the ‘I’m going to retire and not playing any more’ vs. ‘I’m going to retire to the clubhouse for a nappy-poo.’ He leaves the game as the best all-around CF since Willie Mays, the best all-around ‘Kid’ since Billy, and the best Ken Griffey since Ken Griffey.

John Axford – Got his third save. As Trevor Hoffman buries his head in the sands of time, Axford is quietly walking away with the closer job. This thing isn’t figured out just yet, but for now own Axford and Hoffman.

Adrian Gonzalez – 4-for-6, 4 RBIs and his tenth homer. Would love to see this be the start of one of his crazy homer binge streaks. That is all.

Clayton Richard – 6 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 5 Ks. I joke around about hodgepadres, but you guys (and three girls — hey, ladies!) do realize the Padres have a 2.56 ERA at home, right? Across all of my teams, I own every single hodgepadre at least once. Ya’ll should too.

Jose Contreras – 2/3 IP, 1 ER. The Phillies said Lidge will be returned to the closer role any day now. Since Contreras came in two consecutive games that were not save situations, I’d say Lidge’s time is very soon. (BTW, the monthly look at all closers is coming this afternoon. No, you can’t wait!)

Jayson Werth – 1-for-3 as he hit leadoff. When reporters asked Charlie Manuel why he batted Werth leadoff, he said, “Look, if I’m going to fall off the turnip truck, I’m going to bring some turnips with me and fashion a turnip gun out of the tailpipe. And as any good turnip marksman will tell you, you’ve got to fire off a few stray turnips before you’ve hit your target. Any more root vegetable queries before I hit the showers?”

i’m sooo appalled by the Joyce call. “Tie goes to the runner” was thrown out of this game years ago and he calls that??? I am still SMH… (shaking my head).. man, it’s hard to type and shake one’s head, just note that.

hey i’ve got two trades offered to me, i posted them in the forums under BIG TRADES RCL, its right at the top as of now, can a couple of you guys check it out and see what ya think? They’re both very intriguing deals. Thanks.

“And with that, a mighty cheer went up from the heroes of Shelbyville. They had banished the awful lemon tree forever, because it was haunted. Now let’s all celebrate with a cool glass of turnip juice.”

@ThePoonTycoon: poon you’re always a good help…. can you check my deal in the forums, under BIG TRADES RCL, its like two posts down now…. i need some advice and grey wont wake up til the sun comes up in cali… lol

i can’t even begin to rank those SP’s, i dont think i own one of them in either of my $ leagues. sorry

@Tony: yeah, they are my 5th SP/bench SPs, and i’m trying to figure out which to pair with pence in a deal. wilson just about has to be at the bottom right now i think, but i almost feel like i would be insulting the other owner to throw wilson in there after his last 3 starts, and generally i get my best deals done when i at least make a reasonable first offer instead of severely low-balling a guy.

Do you guys think its worth dropping Freese for Headley. I know Headley is the sexier name but Freese has been playing well in a lineup where he will for sure get RBIs but not the steals or runs of Headley. I could use a boost in basically every category so I guess I’m asking who do you think contributes more in the long run? Thanks in advance.

@Tony: first deal…i like andrus >>>>>>>> ells. both healthy, then similar numbers, but the SS and health factors swing it to andrus…he’s just the less sexy name.

but i feel like you are selling rollins and lind way short for liriano and young. you said you don’t really even need pitching, so liriano doesn’t even bring value like he would if your staff was struggling. and i know rollins is hurt, but he has raked when he’s played, even in his return from the first DL stay, he hit well.

i would see if you could package ellsbury + a lower end guy for andrus, but wouldn’t do that deal.

i don’t trade for guys on the DL, and generally don’t sell my guys on the DL if i am selling them at a fraction of the cost. i could see trading ellsbury cause andrus gives you the same numbers at a thinner position but with a less sexy name.

second deal…i would probably do it. markakis is walking again, so his OBP is high, and he’s hitting for average. the power stats aren’t great, but he’s tended to be a 2nd half player in his career thus far. i think e santana is a good SP4/5, and maybe better. his early numbers were inflated from 2 matchups with the yankees, but the angels only have 2 games with the yankees the rest of the season. that’s a lot of oakland and seattle matchups for him. as for cargo, his value is probably at it’s max right now. i feel like a substantial slump could hit at any time cause he’s only walked like 4 times all season. i guess he could be the 2nd coming of vlad, but until he does it several years, i’d be weary.

@ThePoonTycoon: also with the 2nd deal, if you don’t need e santana, maybe see if you could swing cargo for a better bat than markakis, and do the deal straight up? though i have cargo in a league and it’s been tough trying to shop him around, everyone likes him, but no one wants to pay more than a mid-tier bat for him, at which point i’m making a lateral move at best.

@ThePoonTycoon: ya i have cargo in my other league as well and i get the same thing, guys want him but DONT want to pay anything for him….

I agree with you on the first deal. I like it. I’m getting 3 healthy players for 3 DL’d players. I’ve been in roughly 2nd-5th place back and forth all year. Thats WITH a “1” in the SB category. I could see JROLL on and off the DL the rest of the year, he’s the one i’m most worried about, hell him and ells. Snider with a wrist injury? thats not good…. I’ve gotten NOTHING out of them. Do i need pitching? NO. Would i welcome a Liriano to my staff of wainwright, verlander, etc, SURE….. idk. Its a catch 22, i’m dealing the better players (IF HEALTHY), if they keep reinjuring, which all of them have nagging type injuries, then i make out, if they come back…. i defly lose.

@ThePoonTycoon: i’d try and sell vazqueef and pence, vaz has had a couple good starts, he’s a yankee, name value he might be the best sell, unless the youk owner has a SOLID backup 3B i doubt you’re prying Youk away? ya never know tho….

12 Team, 5 x 5 Keeper (max 8) with 4 Utils and no CI/Mi….. I’ve been offered Vernon Wells for my Johan Santana….. My other pitchers are Price, Dirty Sanchez, Kennedy, Cueto, Slowey, Olsen (DL) & Beckett (DL). I need a boost in RBI’s and HRs as my studs (Howard, Hamilton, Bay, Snider, Granderson, etc.) are not getting the job done so far. I’m also last in K’s so losing Santana is not going to help that situation…… Should I be looking to get more for Santana……. Which side would you want?

@Tony: yeah, the other guys has cantu and michael young so he should be ok at 3B the rest of the year without youk. i just sent out a feeler email last night and he seemed open to the idea, so i wanted to try to get something done today while the iron was hot.

pence + vazquez could be a decent proposal and play up vazquez’s recent outings, and i’d rid myself of having to decide whether to start him or not every week.

I’m looking to deal Hudson for a 2B or SS (Wigginton and O-Cab right now). 12 tm mixed H2H. What should I aim for, or I should I stick with finding the hot MI du jour? I can also use some 1B help (Loney starting, Panda on the bench). I want Hudson off my team because I know he’s going to regress.

While I’m here – when Montero comes off the DL, do you think he’ll start hitting right away? I have Barajas right now and he’s been kind to me, but I’m not keeping a C on the bench out of principle.

@Giant JJ: Yes
@Nuke LaDouche: I see them as near equals. If you need sb’s go with Headley, but I think Freese is the more complete hitter
@Back to Minors: I say, go for it, especially in a deeper league where Stanton is likely to be snatched up.

Don’t forget about the blown call by Joe West in the Rays game last night as well. Said that Rodriguez didn’t touch third only to have replay show he touched it twice. At the time it was a huge run as it took away the tying run for the Rays and kept the score 2-1.

the irony of the blown call last night is that in 10 years we’ll all remember galarraga’s blown call *perfect game*, while most people probably won’t even remember dallas braden actually threw one a month earlier.

@ThePoonTycoon: I disagree. Galarraga’s would’ve been the 3rd perfect game this year and June just started. This season is going to be remembered as the year of the pitcher. Braden made a name for himself with the whole A-Rod thing. And Doc is just Doc (is he the best pitcher to ever throw a perfect game??). If anything will be forgotten it’s Jimenez’s no-no.

However, as unexplainable as all that is, can ANYONE explain how the BLUE JAYS lead the majors in HRs???? I find that more ridiculous than anything that’s gone on this year.

@hoju: eh, i still think braden is gonna be one of those guys that you are like “who?” when you see a list of perfect games. halladay will obviously be remembered cause it’ll be brought up when he goes into the HoF. sure 2010 will be the year of the no-no/perfect game but it’ll be halladay, some dude for the A’s, and gallarraga having a perfect game stolen by an awful call and the game/play/call that fast-tracked instant replay into making out v. safe calls in baseball.

@ThePoonTycoon: Don’t be so quick to think we’re getting instant replay because of this. Buster Olney wants Selig to come out and take ownership of the blown call and defend his position on instant replay (per Twitter). Lost a little respect for him, but I’m very pro-instant replay. It’s done wonders to the NFL and NHL in terms of improving the game.

Keith Olbermann has said that the MLB Commissioner’s Office is meeting to discuss a possible remedy. I don’t know if that means they’re talking about overturning the call and handing him a perfect game or if it’s about instant replay. Personally, I don’t think they can overturn it. That sets a scary precedent.

@hoju: Off the top of my dome, I know The Jays finished in the top 5 in AL HR last season. As surprising as some of the HR contributors have been, just as surprising is how bad Hill, Lind and Snider have been.

What’s really surprising me is their pitching. I had no clue Marcum would be this good when I threw $6 on him at auction.

@hoju: yeah, overturning is a scary precedent, but ultimately it would all still come down to the commissioner’s office. i doubt they overturn it, but i do think instant replay is coming to out/safe calls. balls and strikes is too much, but for the 2-3 plays per game where it’s a close out or safe call, what’s the extra minute or 2 to get it right, especially in a playoff game or a perfect game? i mean, it would have taken all of 1 viewing for 10 seconds of the replay for the umpires to say he was out and it was game over.

@ThePoonTycoon: I don’t know of anyone that is against instant replay. It makes complete sense for close safe/out calls. Give a team one or two challenges a game and be done with it. Hell, give them 10 a season and we’d be happy. But we have to believe that Selig knows what he’s doing, and that’s the tough part. Remember, this is the guy that ended an all-star game in a tie – and then as a remedy, made it a determining factor in the most important part of the game. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he continued to hate instant replay. He’s just lucky that his level of stupid is overshadowed by Bettman running the NHL.

@Rudy Gamble: One thing worth mentioning – is there a better sport in baseball than Gallarraga? In the post-game, when he has every right to be livid and take a shot, what does he say: he (the ump) made a mistake and probably feels worse than I do. And, he adds that it should be recognized that the ump came and owned up to the mistake and not everyone would have done that. Impressive. Most professional athletes don’t make very good role models in the best of circumstances. I don’t think I will ever forget how Gallarraga handled himself in this situation.

@Kazmere: put them in a hat and draw names? ha. slowey appears to be back on track, i think his whip is sub-1.20 the last month. lilly has come around after a bit of a slow start coming of shoulder surgery and missing spring training. cueto might have the most talent, but is also very up and down, and plays in a hitter’s park.

@Andy: not terrible if the konerko/uggla side needed power. grienke probably won’t reach double digit Ws this year, so that depletes his value a bit, nor is he dominating like last year ratio-wise. i mean, he’s still a top 15-20 SP, but not a top 5 guy.

I’ve got a feeling Lidge craps all over the field again and Contreras will eventually claim what should righfully be his. I’ve never been high on Contreras as a starter, but it’s hard to deny that he’s been lights out as a closer.

@Tony: Thanks Tony – I tend to agree with you…… just wanted to get a second opinion! I need a boost in HRs & RBIs, just need to figure out the best way to get that! With the staff I have I think I could let Santana go…… but I need to get a solid stud in return.

@Nathan: Beat me to it Nathan! Having a hard time believing that PacMan can turn his life/season around! He’s looked lost during this Yankee series (look for a big afternoon post-statement!). In a non-Keeper crowded outfield, would it be recommended to cut ties with PacMan & go with Stanton for the balance of the season?

Does anyone else look at the Tigers/Indians play that should’ve been the last play in a perfect game and think…..why did Cabrera go so far off the bag for the ball? Looks like the 2B could’ve made the play quite easily…

@Jo: There’s often just about as much talent in AA as in AAA…younger age but more prospects rather than failed major leaguers. Probably just don’t want to keep moving him around until it’s time for the call.

@Mr2Bits: I’m claiming a conspiracy among the ranks of MLB Umpires, or more likely from the commish himself.

The Goal? Get Instant replay implemented.
The Means? Make enough terrible calls in 2010 to enrage the media and baseball community, even getting congress involved like with Steroids (which is ridiculous).
The Result? Make the change for 2011 and get applause from the bleachers rather than boos.

@Rudy Gamble: Harold Reynolds on the MLB Network mentioned that right after it happened and I have to agree with him. While the ball was hit in the hole, the 2B still could’ve gotten it at the edge of the grass and made a good throw without rushing it that much. Cabrera should’ve let that one go, but as another analyst said, he’s a baller and wanted to make the play. I would have to say Cabrera is at fault some. Just my 2 cents…

@Grey: The dude shot down the Holliday 4 my Liriano trade. I’m leaning toward dropping Jaime Garcia to pick up an OF, but I know he will be snagged up as soon as he clears waivers. I hate having a lot of trade bait with no one biting…sorry 4 the rant but I don’t know what to do.

Any word on when Rob Thomas should make his appearance for the hot hitting Indians? He’s about the last of the Mohicans (meaning minor league studs who should be in the majors now – not a slam on Native Americans – I don’t want to visit Hell that quickly) that we haven’t heard about a possible date for their entry to Show.

@TheRealTaz: Without knowing anything more about your league, I would do that in a heartbeat in a keeper league. Just me, though. You’re getting arguably the best hitter in the game who can carry your offense for weeks at a time for two pitchers. Of those three I would prefer to keep Price, for years to come.

I’ve been trying to acquire Ethier for Haren in a 12-team NL-only league with an IP cap. Normal stats, plus K/9 for pitchers. The other guy has been stalling, and wants to make it a 2-for-2 deal with me adding Garrett Jones and him throwing in one of his crap pitchers (Lowe or Silva).

I don’t have any use for his low K/9, win-lucky pitchers. My pace is 40 IP over the cap already, and I’ve got De La Rosa eventually coming off the DL — which is why I’m looking to move a SP.

Should I do the deal anyway? I like Ethier, but I harbor no illusions that a regression is coming. Haren AND Robot Jones seems a bit much.

Another owner has shown interest in Haren, and would probably flip CarGo for him. Is that a better deal?

As I watched it unfolding, I was thinking “they’re (Cabrera/Galarraga) not going to make it!” As it turns out they did (and with some comfort), but can’t help thinking it could have been a lot more routine.

@Stephen: Couldn’t agree more. You’d have to say the situation has been handled about as well as it possibly could have by those involved.

Great sportsmanship from Galarraga and refreshing honesty from Joyce both to own up and and then front up to the player concerned. Those are the actions of a guy who backs his own ability (and the players obviously are too – they voted him the best twice after all) who knows he will get it right next time and I think by handling the way he has, the players can be confident he will too. I see there’s talk of MLB reviewing the call. That would be a tragedy in my view and would do nothing more than undermine the authority of someone who is clearly an excellent umpire.

Finally, I get a sense when these things happen that baseball fans lose sight of how good MLB umpires actually are. As someone who has spent a lifetime watching rugby, socer and cricket – and the umpiring/refereeing thereof, I can tell you that MLB umpires are fantastic. They have to make incredibly close calls, with the naked eye, numerous times in a game, and they hardly EVER get them wrong. (balls and strikes are a different matter as there’s so much personal interpretation involved).

To be sure, this was a bad miss, but taken as a whole, I think the officiating of calls of this nature as happensd in MLB would be the envy of most other bat/ball-type sports in the world.

Alexi Ramirez is driving me crazy! Should I finally cut bait and add some other schmohawk like Scutaro, Brignac, Guzman, Ocab, etc? Or should I just ride out Alexi as he tortoises me to a .265 12/15 type season?